LONDON // The lesser fairy tale prevailed. In almost any other year, for Swansea City, a club that almost slipped into bankruptcy in the fourth flight a decade ago, to win a trophy would be regarded as a great romantic story.
As it was, their comfortable win over Bradford City felt almost anticlimactic – not that Michael Laudrup or any of their 30,000 fans inside Wembley Stadium cared as, in their centenary year, they took a major trophy to Wales for the first time since 1927.
Bradford had beaten Wigan Athletic, Arsenal and Aston Vila on their way to becoming the first fourth-flight side in a final since 1962 but the energy and combativeness that had driven their unlikely progress was meaningless against Swansea's possession game.
They had unsettled Arsenal and Villa with set plays but only won two free-kicks in positions from which they could pressure. They did not win their first corner until the 86th minute.
"It's one thing to win a trophy with Barcelona, Madrid or Juventus but to win it with a small team like Swansea is amazing," said Laudrup, the manager.
"To have the trophy, to lift the trophy, is great, but the way we did it, to win 5-0 – that’s says a lot about our performance. We all know what Bradford have down this season so what they have done is outstanding."
There was a pleasingly old-fashioned feel about the whole day. In the modern world, in which a small handful of teams tends to dominate, some of the gloss has gone off Wembley finals, familiarity breeding if not contempt then at least a certain jadedness.
But Swansea had never played in a major Wembley final and Bradford had not been in one since 1911.
For both sets of supporters there was a sense of this being a day out to be savoured.
Wembley Way was heaving from several hours before kick-off, amass of white and claret-and-amber, fans happily mingling.
There was a queue to be snapped by the Underground roundel at Wembley Park station while policemen, in the absence of any sense of threat, seemed to send more time acting as photographers then doing anything in the way of traditional crowd control.
Once the seal had been set on Bradford’s defeat by the 58th-minute dismissal of their goalkeeper Matt Duke, the hero of so many of the earlier rounds, their fans responded by a mass waving of flags, defiant in the face of defeat, but also a celebration of one of the greatest giant-killing runs the League Cup has ever known.
However outclassed they were in the final, their achievement in getting there should not be forgotten – something Swansea recognised by forming a guard of honour for their opponents.
"I think this final will remain in history a small part because of us and a large part because of Bradford," Laudrup said.
The destination of the cup, though, had not really been in doubt from the moment Nathan Dyer squeezed in the first goal on the quarter hour after Duke had parried a shot from Michu following a break led by Wayne Routledge.
Michu, changing feet rapidly, added a second before half-time with a clever jabbed finish.
Dyer, playing a smart one-two with Routledge, side-footed the third three minutes after half-time and, if that had not finished the game, the red card shown to Duke as he tripped Dyer did.
Jonathan De Guzman, after a lengthy argument with Dyer over who was to take it, converted calmly. De Guzman added the fifth from Angel Rangel’s cross in injury time.
Dyer’s tantrum was a bizarre sour note, an example of self that was out of keeping with the Swansea way, and he was still complaining when he was substituted with 12 minutes remaining.
Laudrup’s disbelieving smile as he directed Dyer to the bench suggested what he thought of his behaviour, although he played the incident down after the game.
But it would be wrong to let that issue detract from Swansea’s achievement.
Perfunctory the victory may have been, but it came as reward for a decade of sensible and inspired management.
sports@thenational.ae
FIXTURES
Thursday
Dibba v Al Dhafra, Fujairah Stadium (5pm)
Al Wahda v Hatta, Al Nahyan Stadium (8pm)
Friday
Al Nasr v Ajman, Zabeel Stadium (5pm)
Al Jazria v Al Wasl, Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium (8pm)
Saturday
Emirates v Al Ain, Emirates Club Stadium (5pm)
Sharjah v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, Sharjah Stadium (8pm)
Results
2.30pm Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner Lamia, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner Jap Al Afreet, Elione Chaves, Irfan Ellahi.
3.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner MH Tawag, Bernardo Pinheiro, Elise Jeanne.
4pm Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner Skygazer, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
4.30pm The Ruler of Sharjah Cup Prestige (PA) Dh250,000 1,700m
Winner AF Kal Noor, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
5pm Sharjah Marathon (PA) Dh70,000 2,700m
Winner RB Grynade, Bernardo Pinheiro, Eric Lemartinel.
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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ASHES SCHEDULE
First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
Company%20profile
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
